Pickles

Indian pickles are a variety of spicy pickled side dishes or condiments popular in the Indian Subcontinent, in Southeast Asia, and in many other areas among ethnically South Asian communities. The pickle serves as a flavour enhancer and is eaten typically in small pieces with the rest of the meal. There are a wide variety of different pickles. Each is usually made with a mixture of fruits or vegetables, chopped and marinated in a liquid (often oil or lemon juice) and a variety of spices (often including lots of chili pepper) and salt. Pickling in India is an ancient art of food preservation. Indian pickles are quite different from the European variety in that the pickling is usually done in oil rather than using vinegar. Pickles from Andhra Pradesh are exported to other countries of the world, and generally have very strong flavour.

Some of the vegetables and fruits used in pickling include, mango, lemon, lime, ginger, Indian gooseberry, onion, garlic, green or red chili peppers, kohlrabi, gunda, and kerda. There are a wide variety of different achars made and each is usually made with a mixture of fruits or vegetables which are chopped and marinated in a liquid (often oil or lemon juice) and a variety of different spices (often including lots of chile pepper) and salt. Almost all sorts of fruits vegetables found in South Asia are pickled in this manner, including pumpkins, heart of palm, mango slices, and rose petals, along with vegetables more conventionally pickled in the west. Some of the most popular varieties of Indian pickle are mango pickle, lemon pickle, lime pickle, mixed pickle (usually including cauliflower, carrot, and radish), onion pickle, and garlic pickle. Others include zimikand (purple yam), karonda, karela (bitter melon), dheu (jackfruit), mushroom, tenti dela, and turnip.

The Tamil word for pickles is oorugai. There are many varieties of pickles eaten in Tamil cuisine, including mango pickle (mangai urgai) and lime pickle (elimicha urgai). Other pickles from Tamil Nadu include a tender mango pickle called maavadu, usually made early in the summer season when mangoes are barely an inch long. The preservation process consists of uses castor oil which gives the pickle its unique taste. Maavadu is often served with yogurt rice (thayir sadam). Another pickle from Tamil Nadu is narthangai, which is a citron preserved in salt. Unripe citrons are cut into spirals and stuffed with salt, which dries them out. This pickle stays fresh and unspoiled for a long time and is an accompaniment to sambhar rice.

Mixed pickles are pickles made from a variety of vegetables mixed together in the same pickling process. Mixed pickles are eaten much like other pickles: in small amounts to add flavor and to accent a meal. In Indian cuisine, a mixed Indian pickle is more likely to contain fruits (for example, mangos and limes) as well as vegetables. Indian pickle is prepared using oil, unlike western pickles, and is more likely to use lemon juice or some other acid as a souring agent instead of vinegar. There are regional variations in spicing and in the ingredients.